The implementation of tactile feedback in computer gaming, simulation, and training systems, where “tactile feedback” refers to physical sensations that one feels while interacting with said systems, has heretofore been plagued by the fundamental limitation of poor developer support. Typically, software developers are pressed for both time and money, and they are under constant pressure to release their software into the marketplace as soon as is practicable. In this competitive field, it is difficult for any given developer to spend the time necessary to create thoughtful and artistic tactile feedback. With regard to tactile feedback, proper implementation is more of an art than a science. No right or wrong answer necessarily exists for how a particular tactile event should feel, such as driving a car on gravel or firing a fictional laser cannon in a fictional spacecraft. Therefore, much time can be spent (and from the developer's point of view, even wasted) in tweaking the subjective feel of the desired effects, ad infinitum. In the end, there is a vast difference between the quality of tactile feedback that was merely implemented into a given software application, and tactile feedback that was thoughtfully and artistically crafted to render effective results (given of course the limitations of the particular tactile feedback hardware in use). In cases where the code that renders tactile feedback is incorporated by any given developer into that developer's wares, it is difficult for that code to be upgraded at a later time once a given product is released, because developers are usually fighting the time constraints of the post-release cycle where updates to some given software are periodically released to fix bugs or add features that were left out of the original release (or are functioning with substantial deficits) due to time constraints in effect during the prerelease period. Ultimately, servicing the tactile feedback support is less than a priority to the developer, and the effectiveness of said tactile feedback suffers as a result. Furthermore, given the subjective nature of tactile feedback, its effectiveness and quality varies greatly in each title, application, and/or implementation.
With regard to the patent applications and patents for which this application is a continuation-in-part, much of the difficulty presented by lack of developer support has been overcome by AudioSense®, which is a sound analysis technology that generates tactile feedback in real time without developer support of any kind. However, AudioSense® has inherent limitations that are overcome and/or minimized by intelliVIBE®, which is the type of tactile feedback that has typically required developer support—and therefore, intelliVIBE® suffers from the very limitations described previously herein.
Until the innovation that is the subject matter of this patent application, software developers were relied upon to decide what events in their software required what sensations, and what the triggering mechanisms were for initiating those sensations. For example, Immersion Corporation of 801 Fox Lane, San Jose, Calif. 95131 USA (NASDAQ: IMMR) markets and licenses technologies collectively falling under the trademark name TouchSense™. In using TouchSense™, developers can utilize a toolkit known as “Immersion Studio” (as of this writing, currently in version 4.1.0). When using Immersion Studio, developers can more easily create tactile effects, but are relied on to determine the subjective artistic tactile feel of those effects, and when such effects are to be rendered. This is precisely the burden that this patent application is intended to relieve.
Therefore, a need exists in the art for a relatively quick and simple method by which any given software developer is required only to activate a simple shared data structure, which will provided real-time telemetry to an external executable, application, function, or code segment (known to the present invention as an “intelliVIBE® module”), which in turn will itself generate the necessary tactile feedback control signals via general purpose algorithms that are shaped by said telemetry, thereby relieving the developer of the most substantial burdens of supporting an interface such as intelliVIBE®, and/or Immersion Corporation's TouchSense™, and/or any other proprietary methodology for generating tactile feedback. For reference, throughout this application, the terms “tactile feedback” should be understood to include and be synonymous with the terms “force feedback”. In much the same way that AudioSense® audio analysis technology allows tactile feedback hardware to function with no support whatsoever from any given developer of any given software title, application, or hardware system, this telemetry based method allows intelliVIBE® (and other similar interfaces) to self-generate effective and thoughtful tactile feedback with minimal, simple, and one-time-only support by any given developer. Furthermore, due to the telemetry basis for the tactile feedback, the teachings herein can be applied to other areas, such as remotely piloted vehicles, remotely controlled vehicles, UA Vs (Unmated Aerial Vehicles), spacecraft, and other types of tele-operated or tele-presense vehicles, where telemetry is available or can be provided, thereby producing effective tactile feedback for the operators or spectators of such vehicles.